Trust
by shield-maiden
Summary: An anniversary gift leads Scott to remember the first time someone told him to open his eyes.Oneshot


Disclaimer: Not mine, no they're not….not my precious…sucks don't it? Yeah, Marvel's one lucky duck.

A/N: Yes, I know I should be working on some of my other stuff...I know some of you are waiting for the next chapter of 'If At First'...I've been an unmotivated writer this summer, yes I have, due in part to my hard-drive crashing and me knowing I had unfinished stories whose pieces would have to be picked up...not fun. Finally felt the need to write though, just got that urge. This has been simmering in my mind for a bit and I finally let it boil over. Enjoy.

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Jean Grey and Scott Summers sat on the pier dipping their feet into the water. Jean fingered the necklace Scott had given her only moments before, an anniversary present. It had been one whole year since he'd been lost in Mexico and Jean had discovered the psychic bond the two of them shared and the subsequent beginning of their life as a couple. Scott snaked an arm around Jean's waist, pulling her closer as he looked up at the sky…a gentle variegated rose hue through his ruby specs. The sun was setting and they'd eventually have to head back to the mansion. "Scott…" Jean started, catching his attention and causing him to look over at her, "I think it's time I gave you my gift." She carefully reached over and took hold of his glasses.

"Jean? What are you doing," Scott asked, worry evident in his voice.

"Just close your eyes and relax," she told him. There was really no need for the first instruction, he'd closed them tightly as soon as his brain told him she was probably going to take his glasses off, which she did, moments later. He could hear the soft click as she folded them and set them behind her on the wooden pier. Cool fingertips settled on his temples…he listened to Jean's breathing as it slowed in concentration, "Scott…you're not relaxing…" she said calmly, "I can tell your thoughts are running a thousand miles a minute."

"Sorry," Scott told her, brows still creased from keeping his eyes shut tight. He took a deep breath, and then another, willing himself to calm down, feeling calming thoughts getting sent through their bond. Jean was doing something; Scott wasn't sure what that something was but he could definitely feel something going on inside his head.

"Alright, Scott, open your eyes." At those words his mind jumped back to the last time he'd been asked to make a similar leap of faith.

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"Scott, open your eyes," Xavier sad calmly. The fourteen-year-old boy, Scott Summers, kept them defiantly shut, just as he had the moment the blindfold had been removed and the glasses placed on his nose. "I promise you," the Professor continued, "You're not going to harm anyone…"

"Bullshit," the teen spat. "These glasses aren't going to work. I'll blast out a wall, this whole place will come crashing down on our ears."

"I'm asking you to trust my judgment. All you're going to hit is a Titanium wall."

Trust…that was something Scott didn't have in anyone. People had failed him time and time again. Nobody wanted him for anything but a weapon. Foster parents got rid of him as soon as they discovered he was a freak…eventually Scott had gotten tired of it and decided he could do better on his own, blind or not. That was how he'd met Jack. Jack had promised never to send him back into the foster system…of course, Jack had also promised to beat Scott to within an inch of his life if the boy ever disobeyed orders. Blast that wall. Destroy that vault…open those little cannons at those cops over there.

It made Scott sick just thinking about it…though he'd followed every order, a life of crime with Jack, despite the occasional beatings and lack of food, was better than being out on his own. But he'd botched a job. The cops had been alerted and while Jack had gotten away unscathed Scott had not been so lucky. A gunshot to the leg, and Jack was pissed, blaming Scott for their bad luck, saying he'd get the wound looked at when things cooled down. It was a lie; Scott could hear it in his voice…so he told him as much, saying he wasn't going to wait around bleeding and started for the door. Bad idea. Jack made good on his earlier promise and Scott made good on Jack's teachings…the blindfold falling off he'd opened his eyes, blasting Jack into a wall, killing him on impact.

Xavier had found him a few days later…the bullet wound already beginning to fester. A bargain had been made; Charles Xavier would house, clothe, and feed the boy, as well as find a way for him to see again. All he asked in return was that Scott attend school. Scott found the deal hard to believe, but telling Scott he might one day see was like dangling a carrot in front of a mule's nose. At the moment of truth though Scott found himself reluctant to believe that there was nothing there he could destroy…that there wasn't a safe lined up perfectly with his line of sight.

"I promise you, it's nothing like that," Xavier soothed, overhearing Scott's projected thoughts.

"That's just the sort of thing Jack would say…a lie." And then another thought struck him as he got up from his seat and turned towards the direction of Xavier's voice. "And stay outta my head," he growled.

"I'm sorry," Xavier apologized, "You were projecting a bit. I didn't mean to intrude."

"No one ever _means_ anything," Scott shot back. "They don't really _mean _to beat me, they don't _mean_ to let me starve, an oversight, right? Sorry, runt, thought you got yours. I'm sick of it!"

"Scott, since we brought you here have we been anything but accommodating? We've fed you, clothed you….we're trying to help you."

"Yeah…you've been great, and that's what makes me worried you want something from me, something more than me getting an education."

"Suspicions are going to get us nowhere. If you turn around and walk forward you'll come across nothing but a wall." Scott's already crinkled brow took on different creases, curiosity coming through his anger. Instead of turning around though he took a few slow steps backwards until he ran into the wall. He turned, feeling it with his hands, checking that it wasn't a lie. And with a breath he opened his eyes, he could see.

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"Scott, open your eyes," Jean told him again, bringing his thoughts to the present. He wasn't that little street waif anymore, suspicious of all. He'd slowly learned to trust again, to love. There Jean was, hands at his temples, telling him to open his eyes.

"Jean…I don't want to hurt you. What if you're wrong…what if I…" he couldn't even verbally finish the thought. Hands not leaving the sides of his face Scott could sense Jean leaning in…and then she captured his lips with her own. Pulling back she whispered, " I love you, Scott."

"I love you, too."

"I wouldn't tell you to open your eyes if I wasn't sure."

The creases in his brow released as he mulled this over for a moment and ever so slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was Jean, beautiful and thankfully still whole. A smile broke out across his stern features. The world wasn't exactly as he had remembered it…still a bit tinted though not as severely as it had been with the glasses. Scott could still feel the beams, lingering across the surface, probably the cause of the feint tint. "Jean…you're amazing." His gaze briefly broke from hers as his eyes rolled around, looking at the trees, the lake, the setting sun.

Jean's hands slid down his face before she brought them down to entwine with his. "Happy Anniversary," she smiled.

"Is kissing you going to break your concentration," he asked, leaning in.

Jean looked thoughtful for a moment before replying, "…I think I'll be okay," and closing the distance between them as Scott's arms wrapped around her, holding her close. Thoughts and emotions ran through their link as the kiss deepened…and then Jean pulled away, a small smile tinged with regret as she pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, "Don't want to get too distracted…after all, I want you to be able to see the sunset."

Scott gave her a comforting hug, "It's alright. Amazing that you can do it at all…I don't expect you to be superwoman. Haven't seen a sunset without the harsh red haze in a long time. You must have worked so hard to do this."

Jean smiled a bit more, "Every night while you were sleeping for the past couple months…and a couple tests during the daytime. Had to make sure."

He nodded, thinking back to remember if he'd noticed her attempts and realized he hadn't. Jean had been tricky about it, probably choosing moments when he was too distracted to realize she was fiddling around in his head. "And I had not a clue. I'd say it was a success…" Scott looked up at the sky, "Now, let's both enjoy this sunset."

"Alright," she responded, making herself comfortable in his arms as they watched the sun set behind the pine trees, leaving pink rays of light dancing across the water. They stayed there until the pink sky gave way to a deep blue and Jean picked up Scott's glasses from the pier, "Better put these back on," she said, "I'm pretty beat." No sooner did he comply than the magic was broken, the familiar feeling of beams being reflected by the ruby shades. A ruby tinted world was his life, and he wouldn't trade it for anything.

Fin


End file.
